Blog

For two years now, Pulse has been located at Indian Beach Park, which means it's not the easiest fair to get to. Hopefully, in the future, fair organizers will better take advantage of the location and allow in more natural light (take a cue from Untitled and Scope) and beach views. Regardless, it always seems worth going to Pulse given the consistent quality of the fair. Below are some highlights from this year's fair. Enjoy! - Andrew Katz, Associate Publisher

For art lovers, art fairs are a blessing and a curse. There is a lot to look at, but, unfortunately, it is almost impossible to really look at anything. Distractions are everywhere. Art Basel Miami is perhaps the most difficult environment to focus on art that I have ever encountered. Navigating the crowds that aimlessly meander from one side of a congested aisle to another is challenging enough. Pair that with the siren call of hundreds of large scale works in every media simultaneously screaming for your attention and you will find art fair malaise setting in rapidly.

The 2016 iteration of Miami Basel was as overwhelming as ever, even if, as the press has widely noted, there were fewer people in attendance. It was hard to ignore some of the “major” works there – Lee Krasner’s 6 million dollar painting at Paul Kasmin, Sam Durant’s call to arms at Blum & Poe, and Yayoi Kusama’s infinity room at Victoria Miro, to name a few – but I tried my best not to get distracted. I found that the greatest visual pleasures came in small packages this year. The fair’s Survey Sector, which is dedicated to one-person exhibitions, was the highlight of the fair for me with Howardena Pindell, Margaret Kilgallen, Betye Saar, Giogio Morandi and Romare Bearden all looking stellar. Many other great works could be found in the Miami Convention Center if you gave it time.

After a year at Fontainebluea, NADA returns to the Deauville Beach Resort. Although the Deauville is kind of tired, I think it's nice to have multiple rooms to break up the experience, and it's always good to have views of the beach. Overall, it seems like a good move for the fair to make it back up north. Below are some shots from NADA 2016. Enjoy! - Andrew Katz, Associate Publisher

One of our favorite fairs is Untitled Art. The tent is always beautiful, with a transparent roof (providing nice, even light) and views of the beach. The layout is interesting, ignoring the conventional aisle and row system. And the curation is right on with great galleries and works. Tomorrow I'm posting some shots of Art Miami. In the meantime, enjoy scenes from this year's Untitled Art fair! - Andrew Katz, Associate Publisher

It's that time of year, again...Back to Miami to get our annual fix of great art and beautiful weather (we live in Boston, after all). Let's start things off right with scenes from Art Basel. It was noticeably quiet during the Vernissage, but there were reports of big crowds during public hours. Expect more highlights throughout the week from Scope, NADA, Pulse, and Untitled. Enjoy! - Andrew Katz, Associate Publisher

Multimedia artist Rebecca Farr’s fourth solo show Out of Nothing welcomes viewers into a personal journey and emotional recovery as she uses monumental oil paintings and sculptural installations to explore the process and aftermath of losing her father.

This deeply intimate work is touching, moving, and beautifully real. During the weeks following a divisive election, many Americans are left lost, angry, and vulnerable, in need of soul searching and nurturing — and Farr’s exhibit offers a safe space for both. – Ellen C. Caldwell, Los Angeles Contributor

Since painting began to migrate from church walls to stretched linen, a painter’s niche within the art market had been carved. Not only was canvas friendlier to 16th century Venice’s damp boulevards, it also fit snugly on the walls of those with a few florins to spare, as it still does today. While contemporary speculators of our global art market are often praised for the integral role they play in driving new ideas and experimentation, the fact remains that painting makes up nearly three quarters of art sales today. And so those looking to make a florin for themselves often find extra incentive to take up the brush and canvas. - Brad Fiore, Chicago Contributor

We all know there is power in looking. What we should be looking at, right now, are the truths that are difficult to face. The truths of what it means to be an “Other” in America. What it means to be a black American or a Mexican American or a female American. What it means to live in a culture that labels you as “different.” The exhibition “30 Americans” at Tacoma Art Museum offers just such an opportunity for looking. – Lauren Gallow, Seattle Contributor

Rashid Johnson | The New Negro Escapist Social and Athletic Club (Thurgood), 2008. Lambda print, ed. 2/5. Courtesy of the Rubell Family Collection.

Kristen Dodge is not just one of my favorite art world people, she is one of my favorite people, period. In a business replete with elusive characters, Dodge is a rare straight shooter. (She is also rare in that she combines a deep knowledge of art with deadly business acumen.) In late 2010, after a number of years in Boston, she opened Dodge Gallery in New York’s Lower East Side and did what she does best: aggressively advocated for the artists and ideas that she passionately believes in. The gallery was open for four years, at which point Dodge decided she needed a break from the art world’s frenetic pace and rapidly shifting landscape. She and her husband, artist Darren Foote, moved to Upstate New York where they embraced a very different lifestyle.

Now, just over two years later, Dodge is back, and I think the art world is the better for it. Her recently opened space in Hudson, NY, September, has already gained a lot of attention. I wanted to know what brought her back into the “game.” – Steven Zevitas, Publisher

Current Issue

Blog

For two years now, Pulse has been located at Indian Beach Park, which means it's not the easiest fair to get to. Hopefully, in the future, fair organizers will better take advantage of the location and...